While many people know him for directing acclaimed films such as Annie Hall, Midnight In Paris, Blue Jasmine, and Cafe Society, over the years Woody Allen's reputation has become tarnished (and rightfully so) as cases of sexual abuse and misconduct have come to light. These cases first emerged in 1992, when Mia Farrow- Allen's wife at the time- discovered a series of nude photographs of her daughter in Allen's apartment. In a disturbing conclusion to this, Farrow's daughter (and Allen's stepdaughter), Soon-Yi Previn, ended up marrying Allen a few years later, in 1997. During these years, Allen was also involved in numerous court cases and custody battles, after being accused of molesting his daughter, Dylan.

In many of Allen's films, characters who are romantically or sexually involved have large age gaps, and it is also worth noting, so do the actors portraying them. For example, his film Manhattan starred Allen himself (at age 43) and a young Mariel Hemingway (17). However, Allen's latest project, which is still in production, takes the cake for his creepiest relationship and scene yet. Rumored to be called A Rainy Day in New York, this film stars Jude Law and Elle Fanning, playing a man in his forties, and a fifteen year old girl, respectively. Allegedly, these two characters engage in a sexual relationship, with Law's character being fully aware of the fact that Fanning's character is only fifteen. To make this story even creepier, there is reportedly a sex scene between the two characters. While Fanning herself is nineteen, and therefore considered to be a consenting adult, this doesn't change the fact that she has been cast as a fifteen year old girl. Does the fact that her character is so young make the relationship with Law's character "taboo"? Of course. Could the film have featured a relationship between a man and a woman who, while young, is not still a child? Of course- just look at Magic In The Moonlight- there are over twenty years between Colin Firth and Emma Stone's characters, who are fifty three and twenty five, respectively. While these are two ages that certainly raise questions such as "are you sure he isn't too old?" or "don't you think she's a little young?", there is nothing illegal about a hypothetical relationship between two people with those same ages.

Throughout the course of Hollywood's history, there have been numerous movies portraying an older man with a much, much younger girl- the most notable being the film adaptations of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, where a man in his fifties enters a sexual relationship with a girl who has barely began puberty. However, stories and films like this do not depict a relationship that can be considered romantic by any means- an adult engaging in sexual acts with a minor is, by law, rape. So why then, are they portrayed in movies? Yes, you may argue "well, the actress isn't actually a teenager, she's a legal adult", but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the fact that we have continued to romanticize sexual relationships between teenage girls and older men in film and television, whether they be a man's infatuation with his daughter's friend, such as in American Beauty, or a relationship between a high school teacher and a student, such as the one in Pretty Little Liars. While these relationships are often portrayed as "forbidden love", it's important to recognize them for what they are- abuse. A relationship between a teenaged girl and an older man has a clear imbalance of power, and both parties cannot be equals in the relationship.

When we hear even just the allegations of Hollywood high rollers abusing children and young adults, we jump to action- just look at how widespread the stories of Kevin Spacey molesting teenaged male actors spread across social media. So why is it then, that we don't speak up as much when the abuse- no matter how consensually it is depicted- is the plot of a movie? Yes, often the actresses in these movies are legal adults, and yes, the sexual acts shown on screen don't actually happen. But at the same time, it should disgust us that someone- a writer, producer, or director, had an idea that involves a relationship between a girl and a man old enough to be her father- and that idea got approved and produced.